Benchmarks for Training in Traditional Chinese Medicine

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ForewordForewordThe oldest existing therapeutic systems used by humanity for health and wellbeingare called Traditional Medicine or Complementary and AlternativeMedicine (TM/CAM).Increasingly, TM/CAM is being formally used within existing health-caresystems. When practised correctly, TM/CAM can help protect and improvecitizens’ health and well-being. The appropriate use of TM/CAM therapies andproducts, however, requires consideration of issues of safety, efficacy andquality. This is the basis of consumer protection and is no different, in principle,from what underpins modern medical practice. Upholding basic requirementsfor the modern practice of TM/CAM therapies can support national healthauthorities in the establishment of adequate laws, rules, and licensing practices.These considerations have guided the work of the Regional Government ofLombardy in TM/CAM which was first included in the Regional Health Plan2002-2004. Clinical and observational studies in the region of Lombardy haveprovided a crucial step in the evaluation of TM/CAM. With the help of datafrom these studies, a series of governmental provisions have been used to createa framework for the protection of consumers and providers. The cornerstone ofthis process was the first Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for theQuadrennial Cooperation Plan which was signed between the RegionalGovernment of Lombardy and the World Health Organization. The MOUhighlighted the need for certain criteria to be met including: the rational use ofTM/CAM by consumers; good practice; quality; safety; and the promotion ofclinical and observational studies of TM/CAM. When they were published in2004, the WHO guidelines for developing consumer information on proper use oftraditional, complementary, and alternative medicine were incorporated into this firstMOU.In the region of Lombardy, citizens currently play an active role in their healthcarechoices. The awareness of the advantages as well as of the risks of every typeof care is therefore critical, also when a citizen actively chooses to use TM/CAM.Consumers have begun to raise new questions related to the safe and effectivetreatment by all providers of TM/CAM. For this reason, the RegionalGovernment of Lombardy closely follows WHO guidelines on qualified practiceof TM/CAM in order to guarantee appropriate use through the creation of lawsand regulations on skills, quality control, and safety and efficacy of products, andclear guidelines about practitioner qualifications. The Regional Government ofLombardy has also provided support and cooperated with WHO in developingthis series of benchmark documents for selected popularly used TM/CAMtherapies including Ayurveda, naturopathy, Nuad Thai, osteopathy, traditionalChinese medicine, Tuina, and Unani medicine.Modern scientific practice requires a product or a therapeutic technique to be safeand effective, meaning that it has specific indications and evidence for caresupported by appropriate research. Practitioners, policy-makers and planners,vii
Benchmarks for training in traditional Chinese medicineboth within and outside ministries of health, are responsible for adhering to this,in order to guarantee the safety and the efficacy of medicines and practices fortheir citizens. Furthermore, safety not only relates to products or practices per se,but also to how they are used by practitioners. Therefore it is important thatpolicy-makers are increasingly able to standardize the training of practitionersfor it is another fundamental aspect of protecting both the providers and theconsumers.Since 2002, the Social-Health Plan of the Lombardy Region has supported theprinciple of freedom of choice among different health-care options based onevidence and scientific data. By referring to the benchmarks in this present seriesof documents, it is possible to build a strong foundation of health-care optionswhich will support citizens in exercising their right to make informed choicesabout different styles of care and selected practices and products.The aim of this series of benchmark documents is to ensure that TM/CAMpractices meet minimum levels of adequate knowledge, skills and awareness ofindications and contraindications. These documents may also be used to facilitateestablishing the regulation and registration of providers of TM/CAM.Step by step we are establishing the building blocks that will ensure consumersafety in the use of TM/CAM. The Regional Government of Lombardy hopesthat the current series will be a useful reference for health authorities worldwide,and that these documents will support countries to establish appropriate legaland regulatory frameworks for the practice of TM/CAM.Luciano BrescianiRegional Minister of HealthRegional Government of LombardyGiulio BoscagliRegional Minister of Familyand Social SolidarityRegional Government of Lombardyviii
Page 2 and 3: Benchmarks for trainingin tradition
Page 4 and 5: ContentsContentsContents...........
Page 6 and 7: AcknowledgementsAcknowledgementsThe
Page 10 and 11: PrefacePrefaceThere has been a dram
Page 12 and 13: PrefaceWHO collaborating centres fo
Page 14 and 15: IntroductionIntroductionTraditional
Page 16 and 17: The origin and principles of tradit
Page 18 and 19: The origin and principles of tradit
Page 20 and 21: Training traditional Chinese medici
Page 34 and 35: Safety issues4. Safety issuesThe co
Page 36 and 37: Safety issuesChinese Materia Medica
Page 38 and 39: ReferencesReferences1. Eisenberg DM
Page 40 and 41: AnnexAnnex: WHO Consultation onPhyt
Page 42 and 43: AnnexMrs Vicki Pitman, Board of Dir

Benchmarks for Training in Traditional Chinese Medicine

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